Disqus - Latest Comments for benmerrion

Re: Google Isn’t God and Buzz Won’t Kill Facebook or Twitter

benmerrion — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:16:57 -0000

Good dismantling of the hype Alex. The problem with the hype is that it fails to consider the mainstream user. People right now are comfortable with their present social networks, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, or others and just because some of the popular early adopters such as Calacanis think that Buzz is better, doesn't mean that the others are going to lose ground. I have seen many comments where the average user doesn't understand how Buzz is different or better or what it is to be used for. So I don't think Facebook and Twitter are going to be used less often, at least immediately, by the majority of people on social networks.

I do however, think it's worth exploring and there seem to be some unique features that can be helpful. I also think it's easier to use than Google's other much hyped product, Wave. You can follow those with public Google profiles and there are some Twitter-like aspects to it such as @ replies. I do think it can be used for marketing and promotion because of this, so I don't think it's worthless for these uses. You can also use filters in gmail for preventing what you don't want in your inbox to show up there.

Let's explore what makes it different and how it can be used. I do think that once we discover that, then it's good to make the average user aware of these things. I don't think that we need more hype, though. I think the early adopters should focus on how Buzz and other new services can be beneficial to the average user to help get things done or to help others.

Re: My Google Wave Wish List

benmerrion — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:39:14 -0000

I really like the notifier function suggestion. I think that would get other people using it more. One of the main problems that I'm experiencing with Wave right now is people getting back with me.

In your last suggestion you mentioned how you were using the wave in two parts. It seems like the ping feature would be used for chat, although right now, you can't ping more than one person at a time.

Right now one of the things that's most preventing me from using it more and also encouraging others to use it with me is that technical glitches are pretty prevalent. The most recent one that happens is when you type in a wave, the box starts moving a lot. A post from Techcrunch outlines most of the problems: http://www.techcrunch.com/2...

Re: BUG: Twitter Currently Dropping Some Mentions and Replies

benmerrion — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:45:19 -0000

Mine have been affected. Especially, as you noted many of my past @replies to me. I noticed this earlier in the week.

Re: Listening Dashboard via Email?

benmerrion — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:08:25 -0000

So, as an update, I did receive my first Nutshell email and I really like it so far. I like seeing both of my Twitter and Facebook feeds in one place and I also love being able to click on the links. I'm able to retweet posts and do all the things I normally would from my email, so this definitely is a time-saver!

Re: Listening Dashboard via Email?

benmerrion — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:52:29 -0000

Thanks for posting this Frank. I am going to try it. It might solve problems with trying to keep up with all the good information that is posted through these tools. I often lose things in the stream since I am following a lot of people. If I had all the information in an email, I think it would be very helpful for me to sort through.

Re: On-site and Online Fundraising Best Practices

benmerrion — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:56:25 -0000

This is a great post! Especially reading about the mobile giving and the donation stations. I think that non-profits and government agencies can get a lot out of what other organizations do to be creative. Thanks for sharing!